April 2023 - Week 1
Weekend Primer - April 1st 2023
Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin - Non Title Heavyweight Fight
DAZN - London - Start Time: 1pm CT; Main Event: 4:30pm CT
Anthony Joshua 33 from the UK. #3 Heavyweight per Boxrec.
AJ comes into this fight beginning his 2023 redemption tour. A former Olympic Gold Medalist and IBF, WBA, WBO Unified Titleholder, Joshua was at the top of the heavyweight division from 2016 to 2020. There were a lot of people that were looking at Johsua as the next great British Heavyweight. However, after losing his 3 belts to Oleksander Usyk in 2021 and losing again in the rematch last year, AJ quickly finds himself almost 2.5 years removed from his last win and in desperate need to get back on track. His outburst at the end of his 2nd loss to Usyk makes you wonder where his head though. Skip to about 1:30 and 3:30 in this video to see what I mean. He got a little unhinged there for a bit. This is a true must win, a loss here to this opponent could spell the end of Joshua’s career.
Jermaine Franklin 29 from Michigan. #35 Heavyweight per Boxrec.
Franklin is AJ’s hand picked opponent as a tune up for potential fights later this year vs. Deyonte Wilder, Joe Joyce or Tyson Fury. Franklin is a guy that has been on the outside of the top rankings looking in for the past few years. He’s beaten a few top 50-100 type guys in the past but most recently dropped a competitive fight against Dillian Whyte a top 10. Probably more competitive than anyone would have guessed. This would be a career defining win for Franklin and catapult him into conversations for title eliminators.
Jermaine Franklin Highlight Reel
Prediction
Anthony Joshua’s talent is just too great for him to lose here. Franklin hasn’t had to face anyone with AJ’s skill and fitness. There is an off chance AJ’s heart just isn’t in it and Franklin gets the KO, but I’m personally going with a AJ KO in 10.
Other Fights on this Card to Watch
Fabio Wardley vs. Michael Polite Coffie - Heavyweight
Wardley is a UK Heavyweight prospect that is starting to make his push into the top rankings. Polite Coffie is a top 100 fighter that isn’t a world beater, but someone that Wardley needs to dominate to make a statement.
Austin “Ammo” Williams vs. River Wilson-Bent - Middleweight
Besides having a cool nickname, Ammo Williams is already pushing into the top 10 Middleweight rankings as a 25 year old. I would have expected him to fight someone a little more dangerous than Wilson-Bent at this point in his career. Wilson-Bent is 14-2, but his last two wins were against guys that were 7-100 and 3-17, yikes. I can only hope this is a quick KO for Ammo.
Galal Yafai vs. Moises Calleros - Flyweight WBC Title Eliminator
Yafai enters this fight as one of the top British prospects having won Olympic Gold in the past. He’s stepping up to fight for a secondary WBC belt here and put himself in line to become the mandatory challenger with a win. He’s fighting Calleros a Mexican boxer that has already had a few opportunities at title fights at Minimumweight and Flyweight, losing both times. If Yafai is as good as he is billed, he should win here.
Felix Cash vs. Matteo Signani - Middleweight (Cancelled)
Update as of 3/29 this fight has been cancelled due to illness of Felix Cash. Cash is the kind of guy I would have expected Ammo to face off against. I thought that matchup was in the works, but I’m guessing one of the two guys was scared of a loss. Cash is ascending and unbeaten though. He’s been progressively working his way up the ladder winning the British title and now fighting for the European belt. On the other hand, Signani is the #1 Italian Middleweight. But Signani is 43 years old and at the end of his career, this is a fight Cash has to win if he wants to move up to world title aspirations.
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Robiesy Ramirez vs. Issac Dogboe - Vacant WBO Featherweight Title
ESPN+ - Tusla, Oklahoma - Start Time: 7pm CT; Main Event 10pm CT
Robiesy Ramirez 29 from Cuba. #11 Featherweight per Boxrec
Robiesy Ramirez another Gold Medal Olyimpian, has been on the fast track to a title shot since he defected from Cuba in 2018 and began his pro career the following year. He was stunned in his first fight, but has been 11-0 since. And his last 4 fights have been against guys with a combined 78-3 record. He’s trying to shed the stereotype of being the highly skilled but boring Cuban fighter. I’m expecting him to showcase his knockout power here by taking advantage of the smaller Dogboe and pick up his first belt.
Robiesy Ramirez Highlight Reel
Issac Dogboe 28 from Ghana. #4 Featherweight per Boxrec
Dogboe is a guy that is only 28, but brings a lot of experience with him. He’s fought 26 times as a pro and has held the WBO Super Bantam title back in 2018 until he lost it to a current champ, Emannuel Navarette. Dogboe’s second and only other loss came in the rematch. So he’s doing a bit of a redemption tour himself. If he loses his 3rd title fight in a row here, he may not get another shot for a long time. It’s going to take everything Dogboe has to overcome Ramirez’s skill and at 5’2 he’s giving up a bit of a reach advantage as well. I’m not sure I see a path for Dogboe to win this one.
Prediction
Robiesy Ramirez has just been too dominating lately to pick against him. He had the amatuer pedigree and is just now coming into his professional form adding power to back up his defensive and technical skills. And as I mentioned, there is a bit of a size advantage for Ramirez as well. KO in 11 for Ramirez and he wins his first belt.
Other Fights on this Card to Watch
Joet Gonzalez vs. Enrique Vivas - Featherweight
Joet Gonzalez is one of these guys that has moved his way through the ranks and stacked wins until he started fighting championship caliber guys. He’s fought and lost for a belt twice against Shakur Stevenson and Emanuel Navarette. He also lost to Issac Dogboe for a secondary belt. This fight is about him proving he can stick around and be a fringe contender.
Delante “Tiger” Johnson vs. Alfonso Olvera - Super Lightweight
Tiger is fun to watch because he’s got a very active and flashy style. He’s still fighting some lower level competition at this stage of his career, so this should be an easy win.
Emiliano Vargas vs. Edgar Uvalle - Lightweight
Vargas is the son of former champ Fernando Vargas and only 18 years old. Being the son of a legend, ESPN and Top Rank are really pushing him as a prospect and he’s fighting a 2-3 guy in Uvalle. I’m just going to watch to see what his potential might be.
March 2022 - Week 1